


Ties

by archetypes



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Recreational Drug Use, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Wardscott
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 23:59:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5395061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archetypes/pseuds/archetypes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nathan thinks soulmates are a waste of time until he gets his in the form of Dana Ward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ties

**Author's Note:**

> *first meeting.

The room was thumping, the swimming pool across from them was no longer glass, it was shaking and stiring as if it were jello or free living waves out on the Bay's shores.

Nathan was the one who felt like glass, his bones still and fragile-like, as if they would shatter if he moved even just an inch. Pulling his pieces apart and letting his soul seep out from the shards.

His vision was hazy, the blur of the strobing, colored lights pulling him into a trance as he laid out on the lounger, Hayden and a couple of wasted Voretx Club "groupies" stretched out on his lap like it was their bed.

If you'd look two feet away from him you'd see Taylor Christensen not smiling or dancing, only glaring with her arms crossed and loosely listening to the words Courtney was shouting in her left ear.

Taylor and Hayden were marked with each others first words, supposed to have bound them for life but only drove Hayden away from her. Nathan and Hayden weren't into it, they didn't want a soul mate when they could have anyone they wanted, a group of girls at a time.

Once when Hayden and Nathan had been high and bullshitting about everything Hayden said that he felt like he loved Taylor, that he wished he didn't love such a 'ditzy blonde'. Taylor wasn't dumb, sure she had a lot of pent up anxiety that Victoria seemed to excuse a lot- but Nathan didn't think she was dumb. He was sure Hayden didn't really either.

Nathan lifted his hand, smoking in the last of his blunt and tossing the roach over onto the dance floor, letting it be squashed underneath the soles of his classmates.

His head lolled to the side, his hair ruffling up against to silky fabric below him. He swore that despite the thumping music and beating chatter around him, he could've fallen asleep.

A soft grip hit his shoulder only a second later, shaking him awake even though his eyes had only wandered shut. He met the stare of Victoria, her hair bright under the harsh glow of the rainbow lights, ivory skin dancing with the colors.

"...jacket!" She shouted, and he only caught the last word, missing the first few in between the sounds shouting in his ear.

He only gave her a confused stare, earning a scoff from the pixie cut blonde. "Give me your jacket!" She sounded off again and suddenly he remembered her saying it the first time.

Any other time he'd laugh in her face, tell her to fuck off, this was his favorite jacket and it was getting cold as shit outside- but he was high and Victoria wasn't going away any time soon.

He went to shrug it off of his shoulders but rolled his steely blue eyes when he found it to be buttoned up still. He felt like a child, looking up at Victoria and pouting at her as if he were helpless.

She visibly sighed, and even though the sound of it got washed away with the louder noises, he could still tell she sighed. She reached over and unbuttoned his jacket all the way down to the last button, so he could finally pull it off.

He wanted to ask why she wanted it, but he felt as if he didn't have the energy to get any of the words out, like they were too jumbled in his mind to even try untangling them.

He yanked the sleeves down his arms, his hands caught up in the material until Vic pulled at it, sliding it off one arm and then the other with relative ease, as if she had been good with kids or something- or more likely, good with clothes.

He leaned back into the sofa the moment he was free from Victoria's momentary need with his jacket. He'd most likely be pissy tomorrow if he doesn't get it back sometime tonight, lucky if he even remembered it tomorrow actually.

The second she had the jacket in her grasp he had expected her to put it on, thinking maybe she had a wardrobe malfunction of some sort, but she didn't. She used her free hand to wave over someone seemingly far away.

Nathan's eyes crossed slightly as he moved to look where she was gesturing, so he gave up, deciding on just staring out in front of him like he was about to fall asleep again.

He shifted his gaze as he saw his jacket being handed over, eyeing Victoria's hand as the red prize was passed over. He didn't remember ever seeing the girl who took his jacket, she had long hair pulled up into a high ponytail, the color distorted by all the lights.

Despite it he could see bright, clumped eyeshadow on her eyelids and her dangling earrings had light bouncing off of the pyramid shape. Even though something in her made her seem vaguely familiar he couldn't recall ever meeting this girl.

She glanced down at the dance floor under his gaze, as if it weighed her down a little. She seemed insecure about it, but Victoria encouraged her to put the jacket on, even going as far as pulling it on for the brunette.

The pixie cut blonde shuffled into the others side, cupping her hand over her ear to tell her something that Nathan would need super sonic hearing to hear. 

"This is Dana! She'll bring it back to you tomorrow morning, she spilled soda all over her top!" Victoria shouts to him, finally allowing him to have an explanation.

He watched as Vic pushed back through the crowd to go wherever she had been before. She was on edge tonight; normally she would have been attached to Nathan's hip, but the closer the holidays got the jumpier she got.

The girl, tall and lean, glanced at the high Prescott, a small laugh bubbling up and over her thin lips that seemed to be glossed over with shiny lip stick. 

He smirked as she gestured to the jacket on her, spinning around and modeling it for him. He didn't know why but the closer she got to him with every twirl had his heart picking it's pace up again, pulse fast and unrelenting.

He _knew_ this girl, somehow.

She paused the moment she saw the look on his face, not even Nathan could guess what the look might be. Every emotion of his always outright translated into something he never meant for it to become, which was mostly disgust or anger. He was hoping this time was an exception.

"What, don't like it on me?" She asked jokingly in complete ignorance. She didn't know it, but his right side just lit up with a fever, as if a forest fire was roaring and crackling at his skin like a field of gasoline.

The words etched on his skin were crawling around, begging to be acknowledged. They were her words- Dana's words. The ones he's analyzed for years and years. 

He'd expected it to be a clothing item, maybe he would be sitting at the mall with Victoria and a chick would come out of the other dressing room, checking herself out in the mirror and notice Nathan staring at her.

He didn't expect it to be this soon or with his jacket. He also didn't want to look this stupid in front of her, mouth open and eyes probably as red as a fucking blood bag. He needed to keep his cool, whatever he was about to say, high and all, would be on her body forever.

_And ever._

He leaned forward, breathing in the smell of the place deeply through his nose, ready to put his act back on, the 'I'm the shit' one. The one people hated him for, the one people called him an egotistical asshole for.

"I'd like _you_ on me." He responded coolly, hoping it didn't come out slurred or mixed up like he thought it might.

The look on her face went from flirty to awe sooner than he thought possible, her face morphing faster than the speed of light it seemed. It was now that he knew what she was thinking, and that she now knew what he was thinking only two seconds before.

The heat between them was a warm, muggy feeling. Like he just got out of a scolding hot shower and everything was all fogged up from the wet warmth. It was a slow, yet wicked burn like they had been together for years, the peak of their feelings already hitting before the first conversation even ended. Did Hayden feel this when he looked at Taylor, why was he denying himself this? _How_ was he denying himself this?

She reached down, with the shocked look still on her face, her hand gliding over her hip absentmindedly; like there was something there that was bugging her. And Nathan didn't need three chances to guess what it was. 

"Oh my god! Nathan Prescott!" She shouted over to him, dashing towards him and taking the empty spot next to him on the lounger, boldly wrapping her hand around his forearm. The feeling of their skin meeting felt like a bolt of electricity, especially since his usually covered arm was bare and their skin met without a barrier between them.

The innocent touch was totally foreign to Nathan, having only felt the roughest of punches or greedy grips while fucking. But Dana's hand felt familiar and oddly calming while his nerves usually danced about.

The way she said his name wasn't shock but as if to say it just to say it, like she liked the sound of it almost; something he prayed wouldn't turn out to be sick, twisted false hope churning inside of him.

"We've been going to the same school, I see you like, everywhere! All this time..." Her voice dropped off, like she was remembering every time she had just passed him in the hallway or heard his name being spoken.

He didn't know why but that made him feel off. He can recall every time he threw a fit at a teacher, flipped a desk, cursed someone out, fought. Dana probably heard it all through the mouths of others or even saw some first hand. A lot of people have horror stories involving him.

He leaned into her side, "Are you disappointed?" He asked bitterly, like the words tasted awful.

"What? No! Don't worry about the past okay- can we go outside?" She asked, using her free hand to cup her words like a megaphone.

He didn't want to get up, but he was moving the moment she stood, her hand still holding his forearm hostage. He pulled her hand down as he stood, wobbly and shaken, holding her hand in his now.

Even though it was ridiculous, he felt like he was in love. Like he wanted her opinion of him to be high and her feelings about him strong. He wanted this to work so bad that it rumbled the pit of his stomach in racks of nervousness. He felt like a kid.

Her skin was cold as she interlocked their fingers like laces, their different temperatures mixing smoothly.

The air outside was chrisp as the wind nipped at the bare skin on his arms. He was glad Dana had his jacket on, and if she didn't he imagined himself gently handing it over to her, wrapping it around her shoulders, caring for her.

She glanced back at him as they stood in the back entrance to the pool, "Sorry I just, I wanted to be alone- I don't know..."

She looked embarrassed, or just nervous to say the least. Her free hand picking at the long sleeves of his jacket and the hand that was in his was shaking slightly with the cool breeze.

"Can I see it?" He asked softly, motioning vaguely with his other hand to her body, he wanted to see it so badly his chest ached with wonder, his heart seemed to only thump out Dana's name now.

She smiled, happy to get right down to it, the smile made him feel excited for the first time in a while.

Dana released his hand reluctantly, and it took almost everything in Nathan to not just grab her and pull her against him. He was already thirsty for her touch- missing something he barely had.

She reached down and lifted her shirt and the jacket up while also pulling her jeans down slightly, Nathan mesmerized as her bare skin seemed to stretch on.

And on the very jut of her hip bone, the right side, was his words scrawled in a familiar handwriting on her taught skin. Thinking now, he felt stupid for saying what he did. It made him seem ridiculous and over-compensating with the arrogant choice of words.

He reached forward, the tips of his fingers brushing over her hip delicately, like he was caught in a trance. She bewitched him.

Her felt a sense of power as he glided along her skin. She felt fragile, her birdlike bones feeling tiny compared to his jaunty fingers. He wouldn't date hurt her, but the fact that she trusted him to touch, it was captivating.

"Shit I'm sorry I said that, by the way." He mumbled, shoulders raising with a small shrug that was mostly for himself.

"It was hot. So it's okay." She laughed, pulling his hand from her mark and instead tugging herself close to him as if he was an anchor.

He got lost in her smile and gleeful laugh once more, even grinning himself. His tortured soul seemed to like Dana and that was good enough for him. Dana was _too good_ for him even, and he already knew that much.

His arm snaked around her small waist, fingers curling in on themselves and nails scratching at her lower back, her shirt still bunched up slightly from before.

"You know, I thought that I wouldn't get my soul mate till I was like, forty. I thought that I'd like to just do whatever until then but... I'm glad, you know? I'm glad it's now and I'm glad it's you." She was quiet and the wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning and breathing in his scent of cigarettes and expensive cologne.

"You're glad it's me? So I'm guessing you haven't heard any of the shit these assholes say about me?" The words were sarcastic and bitter as they rolled off his tongue. "That I'm _crazy_."

She pursued her lips, "Stop it Nathan. It doesn't matter what they say about you, it's for me to decide what I want." She sounded kind and stern all at once, like nothing he could say would change her mind. "Besides, Hayden and Victoria always have good things to say about you."

He thought fondly over his friends for a second before being brought back to the girl in front of him. Of course Hayden and Vic said good shit about him, he expected that from them. He'd never shit talk them after all.

"So you want to do this?" He needed to know, he needed her to be sure. He wouldn't be getting fucked over this time by some chick. He wanted his soulmate to be with him on this.

"I do, do you?" 

"Of course, I mean fuck, you only get one soulmate and I don't wanna fuck this up." He pulled her impossibly closer, he swore he could feel her heart beat against his chest.

She grinned at his words despite the brashness of them, she hid her face in the crook of his neck to try and hide it, breathing him in and placing a gentle kiss there, her lip stick smearing on his skin with a sticky mark that he'd be fond of until he showered and washed it away.

"Take me out to dinner soon, then?" Her voice hopeful yet worried, as if he'd say no to her. The word wasn't even on his mind.

"How about Saturday night? No bullshit school in the morning." He whispered into her ear in return then pulled back, watching the emotions in her eyes flicker from hopeful to ecstatic all too quickly, yet adorable.

"I'll hold you to that, Nate." She smirked, lobsided and goofy that it was enough to make him chuckle. His laugh came out dorky and unexpected but he felt no need to stop himself.

"I'm counting on that." Calm and cool he ran his hands up her back, Dana swaying into the touch like the breeze around them.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if this comes out shitty and sorry for any and all mistakes !


End file.
